Texas Tech no match for dominant K-State in 55-24 loss

Saturday

MANHATTAN, Kan. - Texas Tech knew playing good wasn't going to cut it against high-powered Kansas State on Saturday.

The Red Raiders were going to have to be great, or even better, to have any hope of pulling off a monumental road upset.

"We would have had to play perfect today to have a chance," Tech coach Tommy Tuberville said.

The Red Raiders didn't achieve perfection - not close - but it might not have mattered if they had.

Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein showed a sold-out crowd at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, and a national television audience of millions, why he's the clear front-runner for the Heisman Trophy, and the fourth-ranked Wildcats looked every bit the part of a national-title contender during a 55-24 rout of No. 15 Tech.

Kansas State throttled Tech in the second half, outscoring the Red Raiders 42-14 in the period. What seemed destined to be a neck-and-neck affair in the first half got out of hand in a hurry during the second.

Klein accounted for four touchdowns - all in the final 30 minutes - and 316 total yards. He finished off a near perfect 75-yard drive to start the third quarter by finding Tramaine Thompson for a 21-yard touchdown pass. He scored rushing touchdowns on Kansas State's next two possessions, then added his second touchdown pass midway through the fourth quarter.

"We looked like we were playing well," Tuberville said. "Then you look up and we're down 20."

Mistakes, ones the Red Raiders were so desperate to avoid, didn't help. Kansas State turned three Tech turnovers into 17 points, and they scored another touchdown following an 8-yard shanked punt from Ryan Erxleben.

As usual, the Wildcats didn't commit many errors of their own. They didn't turn the ball over and were flagged with just five penalties for 45 yards.

"The key thing is they created turnovers, and as a defense, we weren't able to create takeaways," Tech defensive tackle Kerry Hyder said. "You have to get takeaways to win in the Big 12, and we didn't get any today."

The loss was a major blow to the Big 12 Conference title aspirations for Tech (6-2, 3-2 in Big 12 play), while Kansas State (8-0, 5-0) kept alive its hopes for a spot in the BCS national championship game. Kansas State likely will move to No. 2 in the BCS standings as a result of Florida's loss to Georgia on Saturday.

"One thing they do is they control the ball and run it," Tuberville said of the Wildcats. "That's pretty important if you plan on running the table and winning the national championship."

By the time the final seconds ticked away on Saturday, Tech's fast start hours earlier had become a distant memory.

The Red Raiders took a 7-0 lead after an impressive opening drive, which culminated in a 32-yard pass from Seth Doege to Eric Ward. After forcing Kansas State to punt on its opening possession, Tech drove to the Wildcats 23-yard line with a chance to add to its lead. But Doege was sacked by Meshak Williams on third down and his fumble was recovered by Kansas State.

"There's a small margin for error in the Big 12," Doege said. "Anything like that, a fumble, the momentum runs against you."

The Wildcats settled for a field goal on its ensuing drive, but they succeeded in usurping important early momentum.

Leading 13-10 at halftime - despite being outgained 234-143 before intermission - Kansas State scored a touchdown on its opening drive of the second half for the sixth time in eight games. Tech largely contained Klein in the first half, but after the break the veteran quarterback patiently picked his spots in the running game, waiting for holes to open up, then quickly darting through them.

"They made adjustments, and their adjustments were better than ours," Tech linebacker Terrance Bullitt said. "They trust in their quarterback, and he made a lot of good runs. You have to give credit to them, because to be honest, they just came out and beat you fair and square."

Needing to answer Kansas State's quick scoring drive to open the second half, Tech instead gave the ball away on its next possession. Ward - who had an otherwise stellar day with 11 catches for a career-high 161 yards and two touchdowns - fumbled on the Red Raiders' first play. Kansas State recovered and deflated Tech a few plays later with a 16-yard run from Klein that put Kansas State up, 27-10.

The Tech defense didn't have any more success after that. The Red Raiders limited the Wildcats to 143 yards in the first half, but Kansas State could not be stopped when the two teams returned from their locker rooms. After the game, Tuberville said the Red Raiders weren't sharp on third down, later adding they didn't have many answers on first down, either.

Meantime, like they did against Oklahoma earlier this season, the Red Raiders often failed to capitalize on promising drives. Four of Tech's final five series in the first half moved into Kansas State territory, but Tech came away with only three points combined on those drives.

"When it came down to making plays to finish, we just didn't make them," Doege said. "That's what shifted momentum. We couldn't finish."

Outside of a third-quarter drive that ended in a Sadale Foster 8-yard touchdown run - and briefly cut the Kansas State lead to 27-17 - the Red Raiders struggled to generate an offensive momentum in the second half. Doege did manage to become the first quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards against Kansas State this season - he finished 35 of 50 for 331 yards and two scores - but the offense's consistency left plenty to be desired.

"You have to score points on the road," Tuberville said. "There's no other way to explain that."

Kansas State put an exclamation point on the victory in the fourth quarter, when preseason all-American linebacker Arthur Brown intercepted a tipped pass from Doege and returned it for a touchdown to put the Wildcats ahead, 48-17.

Tech's focus now shifts to its game next week against Texas (6-2, 3-2), a likely matchup of top-25 teams with key bowl and conference-standing implications on the line.

Bullitt said the team already is turning its attention to the rivalry clash, and he hopes fans do the same.

"Adversity hit us," he said. "With Texas Tech and our fan base, is everybody going to quit us on because we came down here and lost? Or are we all going to come and respond to the challenge? We look forward to them coming in. Looking forward to it being a sell-out, and we're going to get this win next week."

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